"As I age, I remember the harsh ways my mother spoke about her figure. I try to choose kinder words when I speak to my own body. I wish I could tell her that her legs look strong — powerful — in that ballet picture." @DevorahHeitner#FineLineslongreads.com/2019/09/12/wha…

"Where I come from, if a woman so much as reveals she is depressed — an affliction that is still associated with evil spirits and demonic attacks — she is taken to the church for exorcism." @MsOlisakwelongreads.com/2019/09/11/aft…

"Hugo was a mail boat away from the French coast, a safe distance from #Paris. While he loved his country with a patriotic fervor that would raise eyebrows today, leaving it ultimately gave him the room to complete his complex ode to #France." @ecjacobslongreads.com/2019/09/09/the…

"You’re either competing with yourself to outdo what you’ve already achieved, or you’re competing with someone else for a bigger share of some pie (and there’s always someone else)." @SorayaRobertslongreads.com/2019/09/06/the…

"I turned on the car and the radio cascaded breaking news of a large tsunami in Japan. But even then, I did not think of the risk to my father’s hometown, a fishing city in northeastern Miyagi Prefecture directly in the tsunami’s path." @matthew_komatsulongreads.libsyn.com/after-the-tsun…